Gamechanger Team Invited to Present at National County Lines Coordination Centre (NCLCC) Symposium
Gamechanger MD Jessica Wright and Operations Director Greg Brookes-Clayton had the privilege of presenting Gamechanger’s solutions at a well-attended National County Lines Coordination Centre Symposium at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge on 5th March.
The Event was called ‘Bridging the Gap: Collaborative Approaches to Tackle Exploitation & County Lines’ and attendees included Academics, The Police, Local Authorities, Social Services and private organisations involved in tackling exploitation and county lines and safeguarding young people. Key stakeholders attended to share information and best-practice and present their latest updates on the epidemic that is County Lines. The event also featured discussion around support and operational mechanisms and featured keynote addresses from Dr Paul Andell, an Associate Professor of Criminology at the University of Suffolk and John Pitts, an Emeritus Professor of Socio-legal Studies at the University of Bedfordshire.
The National County Lines Coordination Centre (NCLCC) was set up in 2018 to develop the national intelligence picture of the complexity and scale of the threat, prioritise action against the most serious offenders and engage with partners across HM Government, including in Health, Welfare and Education, to tackle the wider issues.
Over the last six years, the NCLCC have worked to improve understanding of the threat picture, capturing and analysing data input by forces and accessing a wider range of information. The dedicated analytical functionality within NCLCC is providing a greater understanding of the threat, along with how it is changing.
In practical terms, County Lines involves the supply of illegal drugs, predominantly crack cocaine and heroin, across towns or cities, within police and local authority areas, as well as exported from urban hubs, across county borders. The places they are taken to, are known as ‘importer areas’. So, our team were naturally delighted to be given the opportunity to impart our knowledge on the issues of Child Criminal Exploitation (CCE) and County Lines and the experiences we have had in delivering education and interventional programmes across the UK in the last 4 years.
Initially launched with a focus on Child Criminal Exploitation (CCE) and County Lines, Gamechanger EARLY INTERVENTION programmes FOR YOUNG PEOPLE AND PROFESSIONAL have been informed by a robust theory of change model and are supported by a social impact framework, so that behaviour change can be recognised and evidenced.
As part of this event, we had the opportunity to both present our solutions to delegates in the main auditorium and at four well-attended interactive workshops throughout the day.
Our workshops provided an opportunity to engage with Gamechangers’ range of effective resources designed to tackle CCE and County Lines, through immersive Virtual Reality alongside supporting E-learning content and interactive experiential learning activities.
In the workshop, groups of up to 20 delegates per session had the opportunity to:
· Learn more about Gamechanger and our unique blended learning approaches
· Experience the hard-hitting and award-winning Virtual Reality film that forms part of Gamechanger’s INTERVENTION programme.
· Get involved and try out some of our interactive ‘Gamechanger Challenges’
Our sessions were very well received, and we were delighted to host such enthusiastic participants. Thank you to the NCLCC for inviting us to come along and share what we do. We’re already looking forward to future events.
